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Volunteer Coordinator Tina Gutierrez at the Superior Chamber Office on Main St.
Tina Gutierrez started volunteering for the Superior Chamber of Commerce 10 years ago and now has taken over as volunteer coordinator.
Tina is originally from Superior, but she and her family moved away for many years. When she moved back to Superior around 1994, her husband Hank Gutierrez was then President of the chamber and at it was at his urging that she finally joined. Tina only resisted joining because she enjoyed the work she was doing at Sky Harbor as the Trainer and Coordinator for the Business Information Center. When she finally joined the chamber, Tina took all that experience from working at Sky Harbor and brought it to her chamber work. Tina has been a coordinator on the Business Expo and the Night of the Cowboy. She came up with the idea for the beer garden which is featured at the Apache Leap Festival, and she started up the first chamber office. Tina took a break from chamber work for two years, but this June she came back, and she is now the Coordinator of the Volunteers.
There are more than 100 members in the Superior Chamber of Commerce, and some of those members also volunteer their time to help man the main office and the Caboose Visitor Center. The office on Main Street houses a front area full of brochures and maps of the surrounding communities and attractions. The office also offers tourist free papers and magazines from around the Copper Corridor. The second chamber location is the Caboose which is located in the US60 Park. The chamber took on the Caboose to help keep it operational.
Volunteer Karen Afdahl
Karen Afdahl has been a volunteer with the chamber for nine years, and she loves working at the Caboose because she gets to, “talk to people from all over the world.” During the winter months, 20 to 30 tourists will stop in looking for a broad range of information such as info on the Grand Canyon, local attractions, and the state’s mining history. Tourist even stops in to ask for driving directions to California.
Manning the visitor center and the main office is not all the volunteers do. They have a wide array of duties. Those duties including working on local events. The chamber puts on three big events a year: The Prickly Pear Festival, the Annual Superior Home Tour, and the Apache Leap Festival. Right now, the volunteers are getting ready for the Home Tour. The event runs January 28-29, but preparation for the event starts months ahead. There will be about 60 volunteers behind the scenes working to make sure the Home Tour runs smoothly. Each volunteer only works a few hours. The Chamber is mindful that the volunteers also need time to enjoy the events.
As Volunteer Coordinator, Tina is rounding up volunteers for the big event. If she can’t get enough volunteers from within town, Tina draws on some of the surrounding communities for help. Volunteers from Gold Canyon Resort have offered their assistance.
Tina says the volunteers are very important to our community. “People that are just driving by have no idea about our community.” Tourists come into the caboose or the chamber office, and one of the volunteers will be there telling them all the wonderful things about Superior and the surrounding areas.
To become a member of the chamber you just have to fill out the paperwork and pay your dues. Once a member you can become a volunteer. Volunteers are asked to give 3 to 4 hours a week of their time. You can volunteer to help events even if you are not a chamber member. Chamber office hours are Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Caboose is open three hours in the afternoon Monday – Friday. Superior Chamber of Commerce is located on 230 W Main St, Superior, Arizona, 85173 Telephone: {520} 689-0200
Superior Caboose Visitor Center is located on Hwy. 60 in the US60 Park.
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